Pick Me!

A weblog by Laura Moncur

11/17/2003

We Girls Can Do Anything

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 2:52 pm

People get their underwear in a bunch sometimes, don’t they? Remember the Barbie that talked and said things like “Math is hard?” People got really riled up with that one. I was an adult at the time and I remember being very angry that the Mattel Corporation would treat our young women with such disrespect. Even to this day, I make fun of the Mattel Corporation by saying the words, “Math is hard” with a bubble-headed girl’s voice.

Guess what? I was wrong. It’s hard to admit it, but I can do it when I need to. I just realized today after reading Hugh Elliot’s weblog entry that I was so wrong. I feel like I need to make a formal apology to Mattel, but there really isn’t a form on their website for that.

A decade after Hugh put his G.I. Joes in the storage box, I was still playing with my Barbies. Back in the seventies, Barbie didn’t work. Barbie was a teen fashion model. She had a boyfriend, Ken and a little sister, Skipper. Kelly hadn’t been born yet and her mom is still M.I.A. (yet still able to give birth to a new baby sister, figure that one out). Barbie was a Super Star and a beach bunny. Malibu Barbie was totally cool because she had a tan lines underneath her bathing suit. They were painted on, and if you took her out swimming too often, they would chip right off. I swear, what kinds of kids test these toys? Malibu Barbie HAS to go swimming!

Anyway, we were talking about why I was wrong. Mattel told me back in 1977 that my only goal as a woman should be to wear pretty clothes, walk gracefully and get a tan. As a child, I couldn’t give a rat’s ass what Mattel told me. Barbie wasn’t a teen fashion model. Barbie was a mom. Barbie was a career woman. Barbie worked in insurance just like my mom did and she made a ton of money. Enough to drive a purple Corvette (I saved all my chore money for weeks just to buy it. It cost eight dollars back then, but that’s another story). Barbie could do anything and she didn’t need Ken to do it either. Ken was great fun to have around, but if he skipped town (or got a bad haircut, damn you, Stacey) he was out of there. No matter what propaganda Mattel fed me, Barbie did exactly what I wanted her to do.

When my sister Stacey was in her Barbie phase, Mattel had finally gotten the picture. Her commercials sang, “We girls can do anything!” I loved that slogan. It meant exactly what “playing with Barbies” was for me. They went from teen fashion model, to “We girls can do anything” to teeter at “Math is hard.” And guess what? All of that didn’t matter because Barbie does what I want her to do, not what the commercials tell me. Apparently, it was the same for Hugh.

1/7/2008

Twitter Log: 2008-01-07

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Twitter Log — Laura Moncur @ 11:59 pm
  • At Bloghaus watching the Bill Gates Keynote stream at what looks like 300 baud. #
  • Scoble just put me on http://www.qik.com He’s streaming live video with his Nokia 95. #
  • The Gear Live guy with the cool new iPhone update is showing off his iPhone on http://qik.com/ces #
  • Back from Bloghaus. Thanks for the specific link, @libel_box #
  • Up and ready to go to CES. I promised Mike I wouldn’t wake him until 8am, though. :( #
  • @davidlaplante We’re hitting the Sands today. I don’t know if we can get over to the Convention Center. #
  • @basykes Have you not figured it out yet? The news is ENTERTAINMENT now. If you want to be informed, you have to read the Internets… #
  • OMG! Barbie Girls rocks CES!! #
  • Finished with lunch & ready for the 2nd half of the Sands CES floor. #
  • @libel_vox No, the was Barbies computer games for girls! You know, in PINK! #
  • Finished with Sands. Headed to the LVCC for the rest of CES. #
  • Shuttle bus hell. Where’s the press shuttle?! #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

2/10/2008

Barbie Star Traveler

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 9:57 am

Apparently, 1980 was the peak year for me and Barbie. Plaid Stallions has the 1980 Mattel Catalog, showing some of my favorite toys:

I earned half the money for my Barbie Star Traveler. It was forty dollars at Gibson’s Discount Center. My mom fronted the other half. My dad helped me put it together because it was REALLY complicated. There were a million stickers that had to be stuck correctly on the frame of the toy. I played with that thing long after it started falling apart.

The Barbie Star Traveler

I ended up giving it to The DI just a few years ago. I hope another little girl had the luckiest day ever at the DI and is still playing with it today.

I also saved up the eight dollars to buy the Barbie Starvette. I felt so proud because I put the car together myself and even put on the stickers correctly.

The Barbie Starvette

She could carry one friend in the seat next to her and two friends on the back. The seat belts were so impossible to use that they were removed the first day I owned the car. I always worried about the friends sitting on the back when we were driving because I knew that it wasn’t safe for them to do that.

Use a marker to draw on Ken’s beardMy sister, Stacey, had this Ken doll. He came with a marker to draw on a beard on Ken’s face. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize that we shouldn’t draw on his face with just any marker. Ken ended up with a permanently blackened face within days.

We eventually shaved his hairy head. His hair wasn’t nice like these pictures show it. It was a full-on afro mop-top mess. I convinced Stacey that he would look much better if we just cut off all his hair. He didn’t.

Sorry, sister…

Tuesday Taylor doll and penthouseIf you didn’t see your Barbie here, Plaid Stallions has a bunch of other stuff:

Update 04-05-10:

Here is a better picture of my Barbie Star Traveler from the 1977 Sears Christmas Catalog:

1977 Barbie Star Traveler

I still have the table, BBQ and plate from that set. The chair, pitcher and glass are long ago lost.

You can also see my Superstar Christie on that same page:

Superstar Christie

I also found Tuesday Taylor wearing the same outfit I still own.

Tuesday Taylor

She was a cool doll because she could have brown hair or blonde hair with a swivel top head. Now, though, her hair is matted and unbrushable. At least she still has her awesome Maude-like fashion sense.

Tuesday Taylor Today

12/25/2008

Merry Christmas: Toys From My Childhood

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Christmas,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 5:00 am

I’m wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

One of my favorite toys when I was a kid was Tuesday Taylor. I really thought it would be cool to change her hair from brown to blonde, but she pretty much looked like Cruella DeVille the whole I time we played with her.

Both Stacey and I loved our Starr dolls:

Starr Doll by LauraMoncur from Flickr

She was so poseable and came with so many accessories, she really wiped Barbie off the map for a good year. Plus, her hair was PERMED, just like all the cool kids.

I also liked my Beauty Secrets Barbie.

Beauty Secrets Barbie by LauraMoncur from Flickr

Her hair was so long that it was easy to do lots of different hairdos with her.

Of course, there’s always the love for the Little People:

Little People MiniBus by LauraMoncur from Flickr

This set has the elusive “naughty” little boy. The one in the orange hat has a frownie face. I always thought he was a naughty boy just because he had a frown on his face.

Then there was the beloved Star Traveler:

I played with that thing until it was worn OUT. I owned it until just a few years ago when I gave it to The DI. Some little girl had a VERY happy day that day at the thrift store. Whenever I miss it, I look at these photos.

Barbie Star Traveler by LauraMoncur from Flickr

Then there’s Tuggy Tooter.

Tuggy Tooter by LauraMoncur from Flickr

He wasn’t really MY toy. He was a toy at my grandma’s house. Here he is in action:

I also loved my Fisher Price Record Player.

The cool thing about this is that it was completely child-powered. No batteries needed. The design was ingenious, actually. On the player head, there was a simple music box. The notes were plucked by the lumps on the record. Whomever designed that little record player deserved a huge reward for saving the world from batteries!

You can see all the photos I’ve found here:

1/21/2009

Barbie Celebrity Confessionals

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 5:00 am

I LOVE this video of celebrities talking about their childhood and Barbie.

Kevin Sorbo blew her up into a million pieces with firecrackers. Lisa Edelstein (from House) sent in for a Miss America Barbie Doll and held onto the anger for two years when she never showed up. Michelle Kwan used to make her Barbie figure skate and gave her a haircut.

It all just made me smile to see this.

5/1/2009

The Barbie Townhouse

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 5:00 am

I saw this commercial for the Barbie Townhouse and it reminded me how much I wanted it.

I don’t remember how much it cost, but I REALLY wanted it. My dad made me an awesome dollhouse instead with five rooms and a carport for my Barbie Starvette. There was even an outdoor patio.

I’ve looked through all my photos and all of Stacey’s photos and we don’t have one picture of that awesome dollhouse. Not one.

I tried to draw a picture of it, but I can’t get the perspective right. My little drawing doesn’t convey the awesome magnitude of how cool this house was.

Sketch of my Barbie house

The long top room had a slanted roof because it was the attic. I always imagined Skipper staying up there and it represented my room in my mind. The two middle rooms were bedrooms. The room on the right had a door that opened up to the patio over the car. Each of the four rooms had a real window. The main floor had a kitchen and a front room. The front room also had a door that opened up to the front of the house. The roof had shingles. The front of the house had a porch. It was seriously AWESOME!!!

When I was done playing with the house, I gave it to Stacey. When she was done with it, she gave it to a Jehovah Witness family she knew that had a whole house full of girls. I’m sure that toy was just as loved by them as it was by us.

I wish I had a picture of it…

7/6/2009

Best Boss An Angel Ever Had

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 2:37 pm

Plaid Stallions asked us to tell our best schoolyard BS story.

My story seemed a little long and I needed to include pictures, so I’ve written it here:

Chris Buttars by LauraMoncur from FlickrChris Buttars was the bully who bothered me in the fourth grade. He called me a “Jehobo-Witness” every day at school. Sure, I was a weird kid because I was a Jehovah Witness and my dad wouldn’t let me pledge allegiance to the flag or celebrate any holidays, but don’t you think that should have been punishment enough? I guess Chris didn’t think so and inflicted daily insults to the suffering I was already experiencing.

In fourth grade, Charlie’s Angels trading cards were popular. I don’t know why. It doesn’t seem to make sense to me and I don’t really believe this memory, but for a couple of months, the coolest thing were Charlie’s Angels trading cards. One day, I got this card in my Charlie’s Angels set:

Best Boss An Angel Could Have

At first glance, I thought the man on the right was Charlie. My mom pointed out to me that, no, it wasn’t Charlie. It was Bosley. I kept pointing to the words on the card. They said, “The best boss an angel ever had!” That MUST mean that the guy in the picture was Charlie, right? My mom finally convinced me that I didn’t have a rare Charlie’s Angels trading card that showed the elusive Charlie.

When Chris Buttars was looking through my trading cards to see if there were any he wanted to trade with me, he found the card that fooled me and flipped out. He made the same mistake I made, thinking that it was Charlie who was on the card, not Bosley. I played it cool and said that it was a really rare card and I’d never trade it. Suddenly, he was offering me his entire pack of Charlie’s Angels cards for it. I told him no. He started handing me his Pittsburgh Steelers pencil (unsharpened) in addition to the pack of his cards. I told him no. He started offering me money, but I stopped him.

All I wanted was two of his cards (his best, but that was more than I could bear to take without guilt) AND he had to stop calling me a Jehobo-Witness. He agreed, the trade was made and he went around the classroom showing off his “rare” Charlie card.

Everyone believed him. No one noticed that it was Bosley. And Chris Buttars only called me a Jehobo-Witness one more time after that, but I threatened to take back the rare Charlie card. He never teased me again.

Charlie’s Angel’s Trading Card via: Bubble Gum Cards: Charlie’s Angels

For more Charlie’s Angels memories, read this:

10/5/2009

Barbie of the Undead

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Halloween — Laura Moncur @ 5:00 am

Click to see full size.

This craft project is truly awesome on so many levels that I am blushing at its greatness!

If you want to make your own Barbie of the Undead, you’ll have to fine tune your Sculptey Skillz, but it’s totally worth it!

Via: Craft Time!: Make Your Own Zombie Barbie – Geekologie

1/28/2010

Fashion Doll Bedroom Case: Barbie Loves It!

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

Over a month ago, I was browsing through the Flickr Set for the 1979 Sears Catalog. I was surprised when I came to this page:

1979 Sears Christmas Catalog P526 by LauraMoncur from Flickr

On page 526, there was my Barbie Bedroom Case that was stored in my closet. Here is a closeup of the catalog listing:

Fashion Doll Bedroom Case Sears Catalog

It made me so happy to see it. After a month, I finally pulled out my toys from the closet so I could photograph it properly. Here it is:

Barbie Fashion Doll Bedroom Case

The catalog doesn’t show it in this position. The whole thing folds up pretty flat.

Barbie Fashion Doll Bedroom Case 2

When you unsnap the latch, the bedroom furniture folds down and you have an instant play house.

Barbie Fashion Doll Bedroom Case 3

Here is what it looks with Barbie sitting on one of the beds.

Barbie Fashion Doll Bedroom Case 4

Here is Barbie and her home from another angle.

Barbie Fashion Doll Bedroom Case 5

That outfit was sewn by me when I was just ten years old. The stitches look so clumsy to me now, but at the same time, I’m really proud of my design abilities back then.

I absolutely loved this doll case because I could take it with me to a friend’s house and we would instantly have a “house” to play with. It was a great toy and it has lasted FORTY years without breaking or even showing a lot of wear. God, I loved this toy!

1/29/2010

Charlie’s Angels Dolls

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

Poor Jaclyn Smith. Her hair has been brushed so many times that it is a matted mess.

Jaclyn Smith Doll Charlie's Angels

I loved Charlie’s Angels when I was a kid, so of course, I had all three dolls. When I was rummaging through my Barbies, I found Jaclyn in this hand sewn outfit that I had made for her. It was difficult to find clothes in the stores for the Charlie’s Angels Dolls when I was a kid and Barbie’s clothes didn’t fit her, so she ended up in my wretched designs.

Charlie's Angels Doll Vs. Barbie

Fortunately, I found her correct outfit along with her partners in dectective-ness.

Charlie's Angels Dolls

Here is a closeup of their faces.

Charlie's Angels Dolls

I found some other outfits for them. Here they are in some catsuits and a fluffy number that sheds white feathers everywhere.

Charlie's Angels in Disguise

Here is a closeup of Jaclyn Smith.

Jaclyn Smith Doll

Here is a closeup of Cheryl Ladd.

Cheryl Ladd Doll

Here is a closeup of Kate Jackson. She was my favorite Angel, as you can see by the haircut I’ve given her.

Kate Jackson Doll

Their scarves are long gone, but they still look pretty good.

Charlie's Angels Dolls

Stacey and I played with these dolls so much. Technically, I think the Cheryl Ladd doll is hers, but I’m glad she ended up with my toys because she didn’t get separated from the other Angels.

Charlie's Angels Dolls

I spent a few hours yesterday just going through the Barbies and their clothes in order to find all of the correct outfits for these Charlie’s Angels Dolls. Finding the boots was the hardest. As I dressed the naked dolls, it reminded me of all those times from my childhood struggling to pull the clothes over their legs and arms. I’m much more dexterous now and dressing the dolls is easier. I wonder if playing with Barbies is why I was so good with fine motor skills as an adult. Considering all the little buttons, snaps and ties, I wouldn’t be surprised.

For more Charlie’s Angels memories, read this:

1/30/2010

Western Barbie

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

I couldn’t believe my luck when I found the complete outfit for Western Barbie. While I was looking for boots and outfits for the Charlie’s Angels Dolls, I found Western Barbie naked and perpetually winking at me.

Western Barbie by LauraMoncur from Flickr

Her right eye used to wink when I would push a button on her back. Now, I have to physically open her eye to make her look normal. Within a minute or two, it slowly sinks back down.

Western Barbie by LauraMoncur from Flickr

I found her cowboy hat first. I placed it on her head, but it looked strange to see her naked except for a cowboy hat. When I found her outfit, I laughed out loud and immediately dressed her.

Western Barbie by LauraMoncur from Flickr

I found her boots last. One boot was stashed in a bandaid box (made out of tin, remember those?) and the other was free floating with the clothing. I love how they have her name embossed on them.

Western Barbie by LauraMoncur from Flickr

Western Barbie came out right around the time Barbara Mandrell and Dolly Parton were really popular. If I remember correctly, she didn’t come with a guitar or a microphone. She came with a bunch of photos of her and a tiny Barbie stamper so she could autograph pictures of herself. I remember playing with her and making her wink at all the other Barbies and Kens watching her perform.

That same year, Stacey got Kissing Barbie. She came with lipstick and could kiss Ken or envelopes, leaving lip prints. I wonder if Stacey’s doll still kisses. Poor Western Barbie lives in a perpetual wink.

1/31/2010

Barbie Country Camper

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

This wave of Barbie nostalgia was started with a visit to Thrift Town. I was happily browsing when I found this Barbie Country Camper.

Barbie Country Camper by LauraMoncur from Flickr

I owned a Barbie Star Traveler when I was a kid, but my friend, Kirstie Salamanikas, had a Barbie Country Camper just like this one. My Barbie is happy to rest here, don’t you think?

Barbie Country Camper by LauraMoncur from Flickr

Kirstie’s camper didn’t have this awkward orange plastic thing on the side. It just opened up there. I suspect it had been removed after a fatal tear like this one has. I think it’s supposed to be a tent of some sort or maybe a sleeping area.

Barbie Country Camper by LauraMoncur from Flickr

You can see all the photos for the Barbie Country Camper here:

2/1/2010

Barbie Country Living Home

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

When I found the Barbie Country Camper at Thrift Town, I also found this Barbie Country Living Home. It is truly a genius design.

Barbie Country Living Home by LauraMoncur from Flickr

It opens up to reveal a three room house, all in a portable case.

Barbie Country Living Home by LauraMoncur from Flickr

The back is made to look like the outside of the home.

Barbie Country Living Home by LauraMoncur from Flickr

Barbie looks right at home in the colorful house.

Barbie Country Living Home by LauraMoncur from Flickr

If eBay is to be believed, this home came with furniture: a white couch, a white chair, a white coffee table, an orange kitchen table, two orange kitchen chairs and a green bed.

Barbie Country Living Home Furniture

The home I found was broken and couldn’t be carried by its handle, but I think I’ve fixed it with some very powerful Gorilla Glue. It should provide years of play for my nieces and any other little girls who visit my house.

You can see the rest of the photos here:

2/4/2010

The Gift I Tried To Give To My Grandma

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

When I was in third grade, Academy Park had a gift fair. It was right before Christmas and we were allowed to bring money to buy gifts for our family members. I don’t know if schools still do that, but it’s a really good thing, in my opinion, because as a kid I wasn’t allowed to shop that often, so buying a present for someone was difficult.

We were Jehovah’s Witness, so I wasn’t allowed to celebrate Christmas, but that didn’t stop me from buying presents for everyone at that fair. I bought this for my grandma.

The gift I tried to give to my grandma

It stands only two inches high and it’s a pencil sharpener. That little drawer opens up to empty out the pencil shavings. My grandma was an antiques dealer, so I had seen the coffee grinders that she owned and loved. I thought that she would like this because it looked like an antique.

Because we didn’t celebrate Christmas, I gave her the pencil sharpening coffee grinder the next day. She took one look at it and said that she didn’t like it. She gave it back to me. I tried to explain to her that it looked like an antique and she liked antiques, but she was certain that I bought it because I wanted it myself, so she insisted that I take it back.

I didn’t want it myself. I really thought she would like it.

I found it last week with all of my Barbies. It kind of lived in all of my Barbie houses that I created over the years until it was finally shoved with all the clothes and furniture in the doll box. It kind of served as a doll-sized representation of my grandmother’s antiques. Seeing it again after so many years made me incredibly sad at the rejected gift. I put it in the china cabinet with her crystal and Depression glass.


On another note, DUCKZBUNNY Blog has the collection of pencil sharpeners that this came from. They are photographed beautifully.

And you can buy the ENTIRE set here:

Die Cast Pencil Sharpeners Antique

2/5/2010

Twitter Log: 2010-02-05

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Twitter Log — Laura Moncur @ 12:42 am

Powered by Twitter Tools

3/13/2010

Twitter Log: 2010-03-13

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Twitter Log — Laura Moncur @ 12:42 am
  • Took my dog out to poop… a bird pooped on her. /via @kittygutz That's supposed to be good luck! Maybe she'll win the lottery! #
  • 1962 Barbie Dream House: Brilliant design in a small package. I need to recreate this in plastic canvas. http://tinyurl.com/yjwmmjw #
  • Original furniture for the Barbie Country Living Home. Great photos so I can remake furniture of my own. http://tinyurl.com/ylj8lb2 #

Powered by Twitter Tools

3/25/2010

Twitter Log: 2010-03-25

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Twitter Log — Laura Moncur @ 1:42 am

Powered by Twitter Tools

3/31/2010

The New Barbie Clothes Don’t Fit The Old Barbies

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 9:00 am

Do Not Fit

So many of my old Barbie clothes are worn out, ripped or in need of repair, so I thought I could just BUY new clothes to keep my dolls from going naked. Apparently, Mattel has changed the chest measurements for Barbie because none of the new clothes fit. On the plus side, they fit my Starr doll, so she has a whole new wardrobe now.

4/5/2010

Barbie Loves Her New Kitchen

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

I’ve been making plastic canvas furniture for the Barbie Country Living Home I found at ThriftTown back in February.

The kitchen is finally finished. I tried to make furniture that matched the original that came with it. You can see the original furniture here:

I kind of had to make a pattern myself to match the original furniture. Plus, the kitchen needed some storage, so I made a hutch for it as well. Here’s a photo.

Barbie Country Living Home with Plastic Canvas Furniture

I was browsing the dollhouse section at Hobby Lobby and I noticed that most of the accessories are sized for Barbie, not the traditional dollhouse scale (which is smaller). I absolutely LOVE the little forks, knives and spoons. I remember seeing little cutlery like that on Sesame Street when I was a kid and wished I could have something like that for my Barbies. Why did it take me so long to find them?

This is my first real Barbie. I had a Skipper before this doll, but this was my first Barbie. I used to think that she was a Malibu Barbie, but her face doesn’t look right. I am so sad that her hair is thinning. I brushed it a lot and stuffed it into so many ponytails that it’s kind of ruined forever. On the plus side, the new Barbie clothes fit her better than her counterparts from the Eighties.

4/6/2010

Twitter Log: 2010-04-06

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History,Twitter Log — Laura Moncur @ 1:42 am

Powered by Twitter Tools

The Barbie Olympic Ski Village

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

When we moved into the house on White Cherry Way, the previous family left behind a lot of things in the crawl space. One of them were the broken remains of the Barbie Olympic Ski Village. I never knew its name until I found it in the 1975 Sears Catalog:

1975 Sears Barbie Olympic Ski Village

You can see it in its full glory here:

The toy we inherited from the previous homeowners wasn’t complete. We only had one of the panels to the ski jump, but it wasn’t long enough to even reach the floor in a vertical drop. Stacey and I used to prop it up on the huge dictionaries from Mom’s bookcase. There was no Olympic Gold Medal to award Barbie, either. The “swirling snow saucer” was missing as well.

Thirty years later, all that remains of the Barbie Olympic Ski Village are a pair of skis.

Barbie Olympic Ski Village

You would think that living in Salt Lake City, Utah, I would have been a mad for skiing kid and loved this toy, but I didn’t. Skiing was something rich people did. They invaded our town and wasted their time strapping boards to their feet and falling down hills. This toy kind of sat in disrepair, virtually unplayed with until it was finally thrown away. It makes me kind of sad for it.

Maybe it ended up on the Island of Misfit Toys and found a place where it could be happy.

4/7/2010

Tuesday Taylor Is Still Awesome

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

Although her hair is a matted mess of unbrushable fluff, my Tuesday Taylor doll is still awesome.

Tuesday Taylor Today

This is Suntan Tuesday Taylor, meaning that she could actually get a TAN in the SUN! My friends were amazed at her. Here’s a commercial showing off her suntanning glory.

After seeing this commercial, I decided to let Tuesday go out for a tan, even though it’s so very bad for her health. She borrowed Golden Dream Barbie’s swimming suit.

Tuesday Taylor Is Still Awesome

I even put a jewel sticker on her leg to see if there was a difference after a bit in the sun.

Tuesday Taylor Is Still Awesome

After about thirty minutes in the sun, there is a slight difference in skin tone, but you can only see it if you’re looking closely.

Tuesday Taylor Is Still Awesome

What was more surprising are the tan lines on her shoulders. They were far more obvious.

Tuesday Taylor Is Still Awesome

I was impressed how well that worked. I fully expected no effect. When I saw the tan lines on her shoulders, I felt just as awed and happy as I was when I was a child. This toy is thirty years old and she still works just as well as she did when she was new. It’s nice to know that Tuesday Taylor is still awesome.

For more information about Tuesday Taylor: Crissy and Beth: Tuesday Taylor

4/8/2010

Babysitting Barbie

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

Sometimes I’m shocked at how intact my toys are. I found this Babysitting Barbie set in the 1977 Sears Christmas Catalog on Flickr.

Babysitting Barbie

I was able to find almost all of the pieces to the set (and a couple of spoons to feed the baby that must have come from some other set).

Babysitting Barbie Today

I’m surprised how good the baby still looks today. After thirty years, you’d think she would show a little wear.

Babysitting Barbie Today

My nieces came over to play at my house a couple of weeks ago. I let them play with my Barbies and they absolutely LOVED the baby Barbie and her accessories. I remember feeling like that. The baby Barbies and even Skipper were dolls that were rare compared to the vast quantities of Barbies available, so they were cool. They were like Barbies, but the wrong size.

Watching my nieces playing with my old Barbies made me so happy. Isn’t funny to know that even though a toy is thirty years old, it can still be fun for kids.

9/16/2010

1967 Barbie Twist N Turn Commercial

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

This commercial for the 1967 Twist N Turn Barbie made me laugh today. Keep watching until the manic girls skip their way to the store to turn in their old Barbies.

When I first watched this, it sounded like a GREAT deal. Turn in your old Barbie and you can buy a new one for only $1.50. But then I decided to see if it really was a good deal. According to the Inflation Calculator, $1.50 in 1967 is the same as $9.53 now.

Considering that I can buy the Barbie in a Mermaid Tale Doll for only $8.95, that’s not a good deal AT ALL. Are products just cheaper now than they were back in the Sixties or has our standard of living gotten better?

Barbie My Favorite Time Capsule 1967 Twist N' Turn at Amazon.comI don’t know, but if you want a Twist N Turn Barbie TODAY, you can get one for about twenty-five bucks. That’s the equivalent of $3.63 in 1967 and THAT’S a great deal!! Hurry, let’s all skip on over to the toy store now before it’s too late!

Advert via: Vintage TV commercial: Twist N Turn Barbie, featuring Maureen McCormick a.k.a. Marcia Brady, 1967 – Found in Mom’s Basement

1/26/2012

Building A Barbie Camper Van

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

I absolutely adore this Flickr photo set of a cardboard and paper mache build of a Barbie camper van.

Building Barbie’s camper van. – a set on Flickr:

We are making a Barbie camper van, like we made our four boats, made an Audi R8 restored my old Barbie aeroplane and we are hoping to get the same level of result.

The main body of the Camper was made out of a Lakeland box and everything else just scrap cardboard and duck tape.

I already have FAR more Barbie campers than I need, but this project makes me want to build a teardrop camper for my Barbie to haul behind her lime green VW bug.

3/19/2012

I Never Had A Big Wheel

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys,Personal History — Laura Moncur @ 8:25 am

Plaid Stallions had a Nerd Therapy Session that touched my heart:

Sherry recalls:

From the time I was about 5, every Christmas and birthday, I would ask for a Big Wheel. Would I get one? No! My mother was adamant, and always thought she had good reasons; “You’ll outgrow it too fast”, or “We don’t have room to store it”.

I never got a Big Wheel either. My dad considered them death traps because they were so short that cars couldn’t see them. Instead, he bought a couple of thrift store bikes and made me a Franken Bike out of the parts.

I was so embarrassed by the ripped brown seat held together by duct tape. It didn’t entirely clash with the bright yellow frame, but it certainly didn’t look like a GIRL’S bike, which was really important to me back then.

He tried to make it better by putting pink streamer hand grips on the long handlebars, but that just made it look even more grotesque. Not a picture of that bike exists today because I was unwilling to be photographed riding it.

How I wish I could see that bike again today…

I made a mockup of what my bike kind of looked like using this original photo from the BMX Museum forums: Original bike picture

Bless my poor dad’s heart, he was just trying to save my life.

After my parents got divorced, my mom lifted the ban on Big Wheels and my little sister got a Green Machine Big Wheel. I was too old to fit into a Big Wheel by then, so I was so jealous of her. Here is a picture of a Green Machine from Marx Toy Museum via Fourth Grade Nothing.

She never seemed bothered that it was a boy’s toy.

In the end, that one of a kind Franken Bike that my dad made me became far more valuable in my mind than the Big Wheel because it was the the toy of my childhood. It almost seems that it doesn’t matter WHAT we play with as children, whether it’s cool or embarrassing, we end up cherishing it because it was the toy that held us up while we were learning how to make our way in this world.

6/19/2012

Winter Does Strange Things To Me

Filed under: Barbies and other favorite toys — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am

I came across some photos that I took last winter in the middle of my “I Want To Go Camping So BAD” phase. It was dark and cold last winter, so I pulled out my Barbies and took them camping on the kitchen table.

THAT’S how desperate I was for some sunshine and outdoors time.

Here is the storyline I composed in my head: (Continue Reading…)

Powered by WordPress
(c) 2003-2007 Laura Moncur